Recent progress of high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging in evaluating middle cerebral artery atherosclerotic plaques

Intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD) is a major reason of ischemic stroke in Asia. It also has a high incidence in patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack in our country. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI) has been demonstrated to be a non-invasive tool to provide information of intracranial arterial wall, especially in middle cerebral artery. It can evaluate stenosis degree of arteries, distribution and features of plaques, and arterial remodeling way, etc, which are very useful information for clinicians. We reviewed the progress of HR-MRI in detecting middle cerebral artery atherosclerotic plaques. (authors)